Although Politico may be a part of the mainstream media establishment, it is increasingly becoming an outlier in accurate reporting than many of its mainstream media peers.

In stark contrast with mainstream media coverage of impeachment-related news and analysis, Politico published an article that offered a rebuttal to the assumption that impeachment is a surefire political strategy for the Democratic Party in the 2020 elections.

The article, entitled, “Democrats fear impeachment blowback in 2020,” quoted multiple anonymous Democratic Party officials and strategists worried about how impeachment could play into the hands of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the 2020 elections.

Compared to other media outlets’ coverage of impeachment and Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president, Politico correctly pointed out how clamoring for impeachment of Trump could push the Democratic Party to become a one-issue party in the fourteen months before Election Day 2020. Multiple strategists told Politico that it will only solidify Trump’s political base of voters, while ignoring party priorities such as health care, the economy, and climate change.

Another operative brought up the Russia investigation and the report from former special counsel Robert Mueller and warned the pro-impeachment rhetoric could be another political dud like the Mueller report was. The operative believed the Mueller report did not move the needle on a grassroots voter level and the impeachment rhetoric could become a “Mueller redux.”

Among attendees of an Iowa county fair, a local Democratic Party official told Politico that impeachment did not resonate with Iowa voters and said, “I’m sure it really energizes Twitter, but Twitter doesn’t vote.”

Politico added, “Even if Trump were impeached, the Republican-controlled Senate is unlikely to convict him.” This important piece of information was ignored by the mainstream media as the media focused on the news about impeachment, but not the political ramifications of impeachment proceedings.

The mainstream media’s non-stop coverage of a possible Trump impeachment ignored the political realities on a grassroots voter level, which could lead to negative results for the Democratic Party at the polls on Election Day 2020.

Spencer Irvine

Spencer Irvine graduated from Brigham Young University in International Relations and currently works as a staff writer for Accuracy in Media.